The Compulsory Purchase by Non-Ministerial Acquiring Authorities (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1990

Procedure where Secretary of State causes pre-inquiry meeting to be held

6.—(1) The Secretary of State may cause a pre-inquiry meeting to be held if it appears to him desirable and where he does so the following paragraphs apply.

(2) The Secretary of State shall serve with the relevant notice a notification of his intention to cause a meeting to be held and a statement of matters.

(3) Where an official representation or an official case has been made—

(a) its text shall be included in the statement of matters served under paragraph (2); and

(b) a copy of that statement shall be served on the official body concerned.

(4) The acquiring authority shall cause to be published in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land is situated a notice of the Secretary of State’s intention to cause a meeting to be held.

(5) The notice published pursuant to paragraph (4) shall include the text of the statement of matters.

(6) The acquiring authority shall, not later than 8 weeks after the relevant date, serve on the Secretary of State and on each statutory objector an outline statement.

(7) The acquiring authority shall include the text of any official representation or official case in the outline statement, and shall, not later than 8 weeks after the relevant date, serve a copy of that statement on the official body concerned.

(8) The Secretary of State may by notice in writing require—

(a) any statutory objector; and

(b) any other person who has notified him of any intention or wish to appear at the inquiry— within 4 weeks of the date of such notice to serve on him, on the acquiring authority and on any other person specified in such notice, an outline statement.

(9) The meeting (or, where there is more than one, the first meeting) shall be held not later than 16 weeks after the relevant date.

(10) The Secretary of State shall give not less than 21 days written notice of the meeting to the acquiring authority, each statutory objector, and any other person whose presence at the meeting seems to him to be desirable; and he may require the acquiring authority to take, in relation to notification of the meeting, one or more of the steps mentioned inrule 11(5) and (6) in relation to notification of the inquiry.

(11) The inspector shall preside at the meeting and shall determine the matters to be discussed and the procedure to be followed; and he may require any person present at the meeting who, in his opinion, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave and may refuse to permit that person to return or to attend any further meeting, or may permit him to return or attend only on such conditions as he may specify.

(12) Where a meeting has been held pursuant to paragraph (1), the inspector may hold a further meeting; and he shall arrange for such notice to be given of a further meeting as appears to him necessary; and paragraph (11) shall apply to such a meeting.